_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

CHAPTER 6 RECRUITING CHAPTER OVERVIEW The opening vignette for Chapter 6 is about the Container Stores recruiting approach. The company combines an employee referral and customer contact strategy with a focus on retention. Turnover is low and the company does not need to use traditional recruiting often, such as advertisements. This vignette complements the chapters overview of recruitment methods used for internal, external and international recruitment. This includes some non-traditional sources of workers, such as temporary employees and employee leasing. Finally, students are given guidance on how to apply for a job. Additional Features of This Chapter Did You Know: Something for Everyone discusses what members of different generations look for in the job search. Diversity and HRM discusses the importance of assuring that job ads are not discriminatory. Exhibit 6-1 is a general job advertisement for an HR Generalist-Recruiter. Exhibit 6-2 is a more specific advertisement. A Workplace Issues segment provides a listing of EEOC recognized best practices in recruitment and hiring. The Technology Corner provides information on sources of software to help prepare a resume. Exhibit 6-4 is a sample resume. ADDITIONAL LECTURE OR ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS Recruitment/Selection examples: Have students share their own experiences with recruitment and selection. Try to place their experiences along a continuum of HR sophistication; e.g., some employers put out a sign, while others may have an elaborate process to attract and screen employees. Discuss the costs, benefits and effectiveness of the different approaches. Discuss student examples of bad hiring decisions and why they may have occurred. Assign students to research jobs they are interested in on the Internet. They should bring copies of postings that interest them to class where they can share what theyve found in small groups. Encourage them to compare what they found to the texts coverage of recruitment marketing, job advertisements, etc. You can adapt this activity by focusing the search on open HR jobs.
63

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

Invite a representative from the campus career center to provide an overview of the resources and lead a mini-workshop on resumes. CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE SUGGESTIONS 1. Introduction A. Once an organization identifies its human resource needs through employment planning, it can begin the process of recruiting potential candidates for actual or anticipated organizational vacancies. B. Recruiting brings together those with jobs to fill and those seeking jobs. 2.
A.

Recruiting Goals Goals: To provide information that will attract a significant pool of qualified candidates and discourage unqualified ones from applying. Factors that affect recruiting efforts 1. Organizational size 2. Employment conditions in the area 3. Working conditions, salary and benefits offered 4. Organizational growth or decline Constraints on recruiting efforts are factors that limit managers freedom to recruit and select candidates of their choice. These include: 1. Organization image 2. Job attractiveness 3. Internal organizational policies, such as those encouraging promotion from within 4. Government influence, such as discrimination laws 5. Recruiting costs 6. Did You Know: Something for Everyone discusses how generational differences affect recruiting. Recruiting: A Global Perspective A. For some positions, the whole world is a relevant labor market.
B.

B.

C.

3.

Home-country nationals are recruited when an organization is searching for someone with extensive company experience to launch a very technical product in a country where it has never sold before. Host-country nationals (HCNs) are targeted as recruits when companies want each foreign subsidiary to have its own distinct national identity. In some
64

C.

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

countries, laws control how many expatriates a corporation can send. HCNs minimize potential problems with language, family adjustment and hostile political environments.
D. E.

Expatriates live and work in a country of which he/she is not a citizen. International recruiting for executives, regardless of nationality, may develop an executive cadre with a truly global perspective. Recruiting Sources

4.

A. Sources should match the position to be filled. B. Additionally, the Internet is providing many new opportunities to recruit and causing companies to revisit past recruiting practices.
C.

Internal searches 1. Organizations that promote from within identify current employees for job openings by having individuals bid for jobs, by using their HR management system or by utilizing employee referrals. 2. Advantages of promoting from within include good public relations, morale building, encouragement of ambitious employees and members of protected groups, availability of information on existing employee performance, costsavings, internal candidates knowledge of the organization, and the opportunity to develop mid- and top-level managers. 3. Disadvantages include possible inferiority of internal candidates, infighting and morale problems, and potential inbreeding. Employee referrals/recommendations: Current employees can be asked to recommend recruits. 1. Advantages include the employees motivation to make a good recommendation and the availability of accurate job information for the recruit. Employee referrals tend to be more acceptable applicants, to be more likely to accept an offer and to have a higher survival rate. 2. Disadvantages include the possibility of friendship being confused with job performance, the potential for nepotism, and the potential for adverse impact. 3. Refer to opening vignette the Container Store. External searches
1.

D.

E.

Advertisements: a. Must decide type and location of ad, depending on job; decide whether to focus on job (job description) or on applicant (job specification). b. Three factors influence the response rate: identification of the organization, labor market conditions, and the degree to which specific requirements are listed. c. The job analysis is the basic source of information for the ad. d. Blind box ads dont identify the organization.
65

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

2.

4.

5. 6.

7.

e. See Exhibits 6-1 and 6-2. Employment agencies a. Public or state employment services traditionally have focused on helping unemployed individuals with lower skill levels to find jobs. b. Private employment agencies may provide more comprehensive services and are perceived to offer positions and applicants of a higher caliber. Fees may be paid by employer, employee or both. c. Management consulting, executive search or headhunter firms specialize in executive placement and hard-to-fill positions. They charge employers up to 35% of the first year salary, have nationwide contacts, and do thorough investigations of candidates. 3. Schools, colleges, and universities may provide entry-level or experienced workers through their placement services. May also help companies establish cooperative education assignments and internships. Professional organizations: Publish rosters of vacancies, placement services at meetings, and may control the supply of prospective applicants. Professional organizations also include labor unions. Unsolicited applicants (Walk-ins): May provide a stockpile of prospective applicants if there are no current openings. Cyberspace Recruiting: Most companies use the Internet to recruit employees. Commercial job-posting services continue to grow. An estimated 80% of resumes submitted electronically are inappropriate for the position, but employers can use technology to sort through the submissions. Recruitment alternatives: More and more companies today are looking at hiring temporary help. a. Temporary help services. Temporary employees help organizations meet short-term fluctuations in HRM needs. Older workers can also provide high quality temporary help. b. Employee leasing. Trained workers are employed by a leasing company, which provides them to employers when needed for a flat fee. They typically remain with an organization for longer periods of time. c. Independent contractors do specific work either on or off the companys premises. Costs of regular employees (i.e. taxes and benefits costs) are not incurred.

5. A.

Meeting the Organization: View getting a job as your job at the moment. Preparing Your Resume 1. Use quality paper and easy to read type. 2. Proofread carefully. 3. Include volunteer experience. 4. Use typical job description phraseology. 5. Use a cover letter to highlight your greatest strengths. 6. Dont forget about networking as an excellent way of gaining access to an organization. 7. Exhibit 6-4 is a sample resume.
66

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

DEMONSTRATING COMPREHENSION: Questions for Review 1. What is the "dual objective" of recruitment? The two goals of recruiting are to generate a large pool of applicants from which to choose while simultaneously providing enough information for individuals to self-select out of the process. 2. Identify and describe what factors influence the degree to which an organization will engage in recruiting. Influences that constrain Human Resources Management in determining recruiting sources include image of the organization, attractiveness and nature of the job, internal policies, government requirements, and the recruiting budget. 3. What specific constraints might prevent an HR manager from hiring the best candidate? As discussed in the previous question, the best candidate might not be attracted to the organization. Company policies that prohibit hiring from the outside and promote from within might exclude the best candidate. The recruiting budget might limit the size of the applicant pool and omit the best candidate. The organizations pay scale may not be sufficient enough to be acceptable to the best candidate. 4. Present the advantages and disadvantages of recruiting through an internal search. Advantages of an internal search are that the person already knows the culture and the organization. If the candidate is selected, he or she probably will accept the job. Background investigations and other external hurdles have already been cleared by internal applicants, so the recruiting process is a simpler one. Costs are less than recruiting on the outside. Disadvantages of an internal search are that the pool will be restricted to attitudes, skills and abilities already in the organization. 5. What are the pros and cons of using employee referrals for recruiting workers? Pros. Employee referrals have several advantages. The candidate probably already has a realistic sense of the organization from the employee and he or she probably will accept the job. The employee can serve as a reference, thus somewhat potentially simplifying security and background investigation measures. Cons. Disadvantages are tied to the nature of the employee who recommended the applicant. If that employee is not a good employee, chances are that he or
67

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

she has not recruited a good employee. The applicant pool is restricted to acquaintances of current workers thus potentially limiting diversity. The limitations are not as severe as an internal search, but are similar in kind. 6. Describe the differences one may encounter when recruiting globally. First, companies need to define the target labor market. It may, indeed, be completely global. Companies need to explore how they will approach hostcounty nationals, expatriates, home-country nationals. Local labor laws may affect who the company can and cannot hire, such as in the textbook example about African nations. Compensation packages will be more complex for international hires. Hiring in some locations will require the company to consider political turmoil and possible terrorism. These issues may affect the companys decision to send an expatriate or to hire locally. Overall, however, global recruiting can result in executives and managers with a broad understanding of the business and global economy.
7.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a websume? Advantages. Applicants who have their own web page have the opportunity to showcase themselves in more creative ways than just submitting a resume. In addition to their resume, they can provide supporting documentation, letters of reference, a video of themselves and anything else they think could make them appeal to prospective employers. Disadvantages. Some recruiters may prefer to have a standard resume before them. Others may not want to have to visit the applicants website to obtain information. And, what if the website has technical problems and goes down? How will a prospective employer access the information? LINKING CONCEPTS TO PRACTICE: Discussion Questions

1.

A job advertisement that generates 1,000 responses is always better than one that gets 20 responses. Build an argument supporting this statement and an argument against this statement. Pro. Even though large applicant pools may be cumbersome, they offer the greatest opportunity to find applicants, increase diversity, and bring new ideas to the company. Con. Companies have limited resources that must be used judiciously. Using well-constructed ads allows individuals to self-select out so that those who are left should be truly viable candidates. 2. "An organization should follow a promote-from-within policy." Do
68

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain. Agree. Promotion from within encourages current employees to do well in their present jobs with the hope of reward in terms of advancement within the firm. This prospect builds morale, helps define purpose and meaning at work. Corporate values and culture are more defined and upheld in promotefrom within organizations. As long as the firm is developing the skills and abilities it needs, this arrangement is a desirable one. Disagree. Organizations who only promote from within are getting new ideas and new blood only at the entry level, the lowest level of the organization. Stagnation and complacency can result in the strategic planning function as a result. If innovation and adaptability to external circumstances are desirable, then promote fromwithin is not good. If the current workforce is not diverse, organizational efforts to increase diversity will be hampered. 3. When you go looking for a job after graduation, what sources do you expect to use? Why?

The discussion will vary depending on the institution, its location, career goals and the experience levels of the students. A good way to manage the discussion is to start a chart on the blackboard with rows identified as Placement Center Want Ads Professional Organizations Private Employment Agencies Public Employment Agencies Parents, friends Company Web sites Internet recruiting firms and to let the students relate positive and negative anecdotes about such resources. Another approach is to identify a particular job, "HR Generalist for a small firm," "Compensation analyst," or "Anything entry level in HR." Then, build a specific list for that job. Finally, summarize an approach to using these resources effectively. Students will enjoy this activity if you let them identify the job you will explore, especially if the focus is their target job post-graduation.
4.

The emphasis on leased and temporary employees in an organization will only lead to a decrease in employee morale. These employees come in, do their jobs, and then leave it up to the full-timers to handle the details. Build an argument supporting this statement, and an argument against this statement. Agree. Temporary and leased employees do not have loyalty to the
69

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

organization, and do leave to go elsewhere. Therefore, they may not fix problems as conscientiously as an employee who has to live with the solution. Also, temporary and leased employees do not have the experience or cultural sensitization to know the probable approaches to situations that an insider would have. If they leave unsolved problems, morale for survivors may suffer. Disagree. Temporary and leased employees are valuable to the firm for many reasons. They can be morale builders to other employees by doing jobs that no full-time person wants to do, or finds too stressful to do. They can take over seasonal overloads and help full-time employees manage the workload. They can be used to aid in technology transitions or conversions, bringing needed skills with them while full-time staff learn new skills. Temporary employment also affords the firm a chance to evaluate new employees before permanent hiring decisions are made. Thus, new full-time employees are better fits, increasing morale. It is the responsibility of management and HRM in terms of job design to make sure that temporary employees are not placed in positions that will encourage someone to walk away from problems, leaving them for full timers to handle. CASE APPLICATION 6-A: PRIORITY STAFFING CASE SUMMARY Priority Staffing Solutions, New York, NY, is a temporary staffing agency specializing in multilingual temporary workers. This niche organization provides a service that helps her clients manage their costs and adapt to changing staffing needs.
1.

What role does a temporary staffing agency like Priority Staffing Solutions play in the recruiting efforts of an organization? This particular agency provides staffing support for unique positions that require multilingual employees. Since the requirements for the positions vary based on the current need, the HR department can rely upon Priority Staffing Solutions to do the work when needed and to supply much needed help in niche positions.

2.

Does a surplus or a shortage of workers play a role in how organizations recruit? When there is a shortage of workers, companies are more aggressive and creative in their recruiting techniques. When there is a surplus of workers, companies can be less aggressive and more selective in their hiring. A surplus of workers who are qualified and interested reduces the need of the employer to actively recruit. When competition is higher, more resources are
70

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

required to locate, interview and sell the potential employee on the open position. An organization like Priority Staffing Solutions specializes in an area likely to have many shortages.
3.

How does an organization like Priority Staffing Solutions assist in filling hard to recruit jobs? Explain. As mentioned in previous questions, Priority Staffing Solutions specializes in multilingual temporary workers. This specialty allows the organization to keep tabs on the labor market, then use its knowledge to match the available workforce with open positions in the clients companies.

4.

What effect on an organizations image do you believe there is from using a firm like Priority Staffing Solutions? Defend your position. Student responses will be varied. CASE APPLICATION 6-B: TEAM FUN! CASE SUMMARY Kenny and Norton, the owners, have decided to open a new store. They expect to hire 20-30 new people and feel Tony, the HRM director, should be able to do it by September, three months away. From Kenny and Nortons remarks, they think the hiring process hasnt changes from when they were a small company of 25. You are Tonys intern.

1.

Make a recruiting plan for TEAM FUN! Identify at least four principal recruiting sources for the new store. Be sure to discuss the pros and cons of each of your suggestions. You have been told the company needs to hire 20-30 people from the Fort Myers area to staff the new store. The first thing this information does is identify the relevant labor market. This helps in selecting what recruiting methods to use. Additionally, since the store is new, internal searches and employee referrals/recommendations are not options. Newspaper ads in the local paper will probably be one of the most effective recruiting tools. How successful it will be in attracting qualified applicants who will fit well in the TEAM FUN! environment will depend on how well the ads describe the individual qualifications needed and the work environment. Local public and private employment agencies are also a recruiting resource and can provide some effective pre-screening, particularly since this is a new store location. Local schools, colleges, and universities may have recent graduates who are interested in employment or current students who might want to work.
71

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

Lastly, but not least, TEAM FUN! could put information about the new store on its web site and encourage individuals to apply for the new positions. The web offers an opportunity to put expanded information about the store, the work environment, employee benefits, etc. 2. Recommend to Tony which of the four sources should get top priority. Defend your decision. Newspaper ads in the local papers will probably be most effective and reach the largest pool of potential applicants. Homemakers, students, the currently unemployed, those wanting to make a job change, usually check the employment opportunities in the paper. The companys web site could be listed in the ad and could provide more information about the company, benefits, working conditions, etc. WORKING WITH A TEAM: A QUESTION OF EFFECTIVE RECRUITING OVERVIEW A description is given of an entrepreneur, Tommy Ford, who wants employees who are aggressive, highly creative, skilled, focused team players, flexible, change driven, informed, cutting-edge professionals, and diverse who are extremely committed and willing to work long hours. Ask students whether or not they would be interested in working for the company. Have them compare answers with their work teams and discuss why they were or were not interested. Directions for this exercise are also in the text. QUESTIONS/ANSWERS 1. What web sites would you use if you were interested in an international job? You could try the following: Search for sites of universities and technical schools abroad. Find the sites for international professional associations; e.g., those representing software engineers and other technical specialties. Check out consulting and recruitment firms that specialize in international recruitment, for example: International Career Information, Inc www.intercareer.com. This firm specializes in identifying bilingual international business professionals for positions in the U.S., Japan, and other Asian countries. Their services include a Pan-Asian Job Fair.

72

_____________________________

Chapter 6 Recruiting

Pacific Bridge, Inc. at www.pacificbridge.com. This is a recruiting and human resources consulting firm that assists international companies with staffing their operations in Asia. 2. Would you consider being an expatriate? Why or why not? There is no general right or wrong answer here. Individual circumstances must be considered in making a decision. First, students should answer the question, "How much do you know about being an expatriate?" Living and studying abroad, reading about international experiences, talking to individuals who have worked abroad are all good ways to find out. Once students have some information about what it's like to be an expatriate, they need to evaluate their motivation and skills, including such aspects as: language abilities flexibility and ability to adjust to new situations ability to arrange personal life to spend time abroad safety factors family issues

73